Can filling machine



April 26, 1938. H. A. KEcK ET AL CAN FILLING MACHINE 4 `Sheets-Sheet l lFiled Nov. 14, 1936 Wam? April 26, 1938. H. A. KEcK ET AL CAN FILLING MACHINE Filed Nov. 14, 1936 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 Q Q Qum. e s l. M. @o Q .Sw s .QQ Nw .QN Nw Nm.. S .m S NR m, mm. N\ V. e 5% .N s S9 .QQ .um m

April 26, 1938.

H. A. KECK ET AL CAN FILLING MACHINE l 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 Filed NOV. 14, 1936 April 26, 1938. H. A. KECKy E1- AL 2,115,335

CAN FILLING MACHINE Filed Nov. 14, 1936 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 un. IUI "Ul Patented Apr. 26, 1938 CAN FlLLlN G MACHINE Harrie A. Keck, Teaneck, and Samuel A. Hurst,

Leonia, N. J., assignors to Lever Brothers Company,`Cambridge, Mass., a corporation of Maine Application November 14, 1936, Serial No. 110,800

claims.

. The invention relates to an improvement in' machines for iilling cans fand other receptacles with various kinds of materials, and more particularly to an improvement in machines for filling recep- 5 tacles with semi-fluid or lard-like substances,

such as hydrogenated cotton seed oil. It has been proposed heretofore to provide automatic can or other receptacle filling machineswith means for shaking or vibrating the receptacles during the filling. thereof in order to settle the contents of the receptacles to assure the introduction into them of the requisite amount of material. We are not aware, however, that machines have ,appeared on the market, (at least we have been unable to procure them) with ef- 'cient or satisfactory means for settling semi-iiuid or lard-like substances, such as hydrogenated cotton seed oil, in cans or other receptacles during the lling thereof. The automatic filling of 2o cans or other receptacles with semi-fluid or lardlike material presents the problem of introducing into the cans the requisite amount or weight of material, and still keep the middle portion of V material in the receptacles, (at which point the material is usually introduced into the receptacles) from projecting upwardly beyond the rim of the receptacles. Such is the nature of these semi-fluid or lard-like substances that if the can or other receptacle remains stationary during the filling thereof, which is usually accomplished through a centrally located valve or nozzle, the middle4 portion of the material which has been introduced into the can projects upwardly beyond the plane of the upper edge of the rim of the can, so that when the cover has been placed on the filled can the under surface thereof presses down against the upwardly projecting portion of the material which-has been intrdouced'into the can, with the result that when the`cover is4 removed from the can a portion of the material adheres to the under'surface of the cover. Many efforts have been .made to prevent this occurrence, but so far as we are aware, no successful improvement in lling machines directed/to the lpurpose has up to the present appeared on the market. The object of the present invention isA to provide machines for-filling cans or other receptacles with semi-'uid or lard-like substances with means for shaking or vibrating the receptacles during the lling thereof inorder that, whenthe receptacles have received the requisite amount or Weight of material, the upper surface of the material in the receptacle will be substantially level and will not project upwardlybeyond the plane (5cl. 22e-72) passing through the upper rim of the body porftion of the can, so that none of the material in the can will contact with the under surface pf ,the top or cover of the can. To this end the invention consists in the improved can lling machine hereinafter fully described and particularly pointed out in the appended claims.

In the accompanying drawings illustrating the preferred form ofthe invention, Fig. 1 is a vertical section of the improved can or receptacle iilling machine; Fig. 2 is a top plan, partly in section, of the hollow head or container for holding the material to be .introduced into the cans Aor other receptacles; Fig. 3l is a transverse section taken on the line 3--3 of Fig. 1; Fig. 4 is a transverse section taken on the line 4-4 of Fig. 1; Fig. 5 is aside elevation in detail of one of the vertically movable plates for supporting the cans or receptacles; Fig. 6 is a top planof a receptacle which has just been filled with material, before the cover is placed thereon; and Fig. 7 is a side elevation,v partly in longitudinal section, of the lled can shown in Fig. 6.

The improved can or other receptacle iilling machine illustrated fin the drawings comprises a hollow rotary head or container I0 for holding the semi-iiuid or other lard-like material I I to be introduced into the cans or other receptacles I2. The head I 0 is of annular construction and comprises 4a stationary disk-like bottom I3, an' upstanding'rotary outer wall III and a stationary inner wall or sleeve I5 which surround the main vertical shaft I6 of the machine. The head I0 is secured by a hub I'l to theshaft I6. The disklike bottom I3 of the head I0 is`provided with a hub portion I8 secured to the lower end of the sleeve I5. 'I'he lower end of the shaft I6 carries a bevel gear I9 driven by a pinion 20 mounted on a shaft 2| which may be actuated from any convenient source of power. The upper end of the shaft I6 is journ'ailed in a Ibearing 23, in which ,f the upper end of the sleeve I 5 is xed and which is located in the upper middle portionr of rbrackets 24' supportedon the uprights 25 and 26 rising from the base portion of the machine', which'is not shown in the drawings. The llower part of the'shaft I6 is journalled in the hub 21 of acupj like cam member 28 supported -on the inverted hood-like structure 29 resting on the' arms 30 supported from the lower-portions of the uprights 25 and26. f 'I Mounted on the vertical shaft I 6 at about -its -V middle'point is a can or other receptacle supportting table 3| the hub portion 32 of which is secured tothe shaft I6 by means'of,l the set screws 33. The hub 32 of the table 3I is provided with a downwardly extending sleeve 34 the lower closed. end 35 of which rests on the upper end of the hub 21 of the ca m member 28, being separated therefrom by a thrust bearing or gasket 36.

The head or' material-containing receptacle IIJ and the table 3| being both secured to the vertical shaft I6 rotate in unison, and as they rotate the materialin the head passes under -a blade 48, shaped somewhat like a propeller, the hub 4I of which s secured on the lower en'd of the sleeve I5 forming the inner wall of the material-containing head I8. Equally spaced on the, perimeter or circular wall I4 of the head ID are a .series of vertically-arranged valve casings 31 in eachoi which is a vertically-movable valve member 39 controlling a discharge -opening or nozzle 38V through which the material is introduced into thecans or receptacles I2. Asthe head I0 rotates a portion of the material II therein passes under the blade 40 and is forced thereby through the opening 44 (Fig. 2) cut in the disk I3, and so iscaused to pass into thelupper end of a correspondingly positioned cylinder 42, each of which is connected with and -corresponds to a valve casing' 31. When a Acylinder 42'is under the blade 40 in position to receive material from the head I0, the piston 45 of the cylinder is at its lowest point, as indicated at the left hand side of Fig. 1, thereby providing space at the top of the cylinderl above the piston 45 equivalent tov substantially' the amount of material to be introduced into a can or other receptacle I2.

Each piston 45 is movable vertically in its respective cylinder 42 and is mounted' on a vertically-arranged stem or rod 46 the lower end of which is securedin a boss 41 extending outwardly from the upper end of a vertically-arranged plate 48 having a sliding bearing on the inner surfaces of the sides of the upright guides 50, best indicated in Fig. 3, and on the inner surfaces of the sides of the arcuate guides 49 formed on the flange-like part. of the hub 32. The upright guides orbearing plates 50 and the guides 4 9 are secured at their lower ends in the upper inner part of the cup-like cam structure 28. On fthe outer surface of the lower end of each plate 48 is mounted a roll 52 adapted, as the head I0 and the parts connected therewith rotate, to travel on the upper or cam surface 53 of the circular structure 28. By reference to Fig. 1 it will be noted that the left hand sidev53 of theupper or-cam surface of the structure 28 is its lowest point s o that the left hand.;piston ,opposite thereto is at its` lowest point, with the result that the cylinder 42 then at this point receives a charge of material froml the headlo. vAs-the head and the parts connected-therewith rotate the rolls 52 connected with .theiplstons 4,5 travel up Vthe incline of the'cam surface of the structure 28 until they reach the pointdiametrlcally opposite the lowest point 53, that is to say, thepoint 55 indicated in the right hand section of Fig. 1, at which point a piston 45 is at thelimit of lits upward movement, having forced thematerial in the'upper part of thecorresponding cylinder 42 into the can I2 located'underthe corresponding nozzle 38.

Each vertically A,movable valve stem 39` which slides kin the upward extension or sleeve 31 of its corresponding nozzle 38 carries on the outer surface of its squared upper end a roll 58 which travels in a cam path 58 formed in the upper inner surface of an arcuate wall 60, the lowest point 6I of the cam path 58 being indicated at 'the left hand part of Fig. 1, and the highest point being diametrically opposed thereto or at that the material in the cylinder is forced by the action of the piston 45 through the nozzle 38 into the can positioned below'it. If there is no can in the machine opposite the cylinder being filled, the roll 58 will not travel up the inoline 59 and so the valve 39 will not be lifted out of. the nozzle38. Under this condition the piston 45 will force the material in the cylinder back into the head I0 through the passageway 65, the slot 63 cut in the inner face of the valve 39, and the passageway 61 leading from the head I0. The vpa-rts just described and their mode of operation are constructed and function substantially like the corresponding parts of machines of this character heretofore produced.

The parts for settling' the material in the cans are constructed and function as follows? Each can I2 during its passage through the machine while it is being filled, rests on a plate 18 which lis -a truncated sector in plan and is located in a correspondingly-shaped opening 1I in the perimeter of the table 3|. Each plate 1.0 is provided with a downwardly extending stem 12, polygonal in cross section, on the outer surface of the lower end of which is mounted a roll 13 arranged to travel on the upper surface of the teeth 15 of an arc-shaped rack 16 located under the path of travel of the rolls 13. By referenceV to Fig. 4 it will be noted that the arc-shaped rack 16'extends from slightly in advance of the point 11 where the legend indicates that a valve opens to slightly beyond the point 18 where the legendindicates that the valve closes.

The arc-shaped rack 16 is held adjustably in position under the path of travel of the rolls 13 by means of a series of hollow screws each of which passes upwardly through the inner end of a plate 8| held in position by two downwardly extending bolts 82 depending from the under surface of an annular trough-like structure 83 supported from the inner surfaces of the uprights 25 and 26 of the frame of the machine. The under level surface 84 of the arcuate rack 16 rests on the upper ends of the hollow screws 80. The very tical position of the arcuate rack 16, and especially of the upper surface of the teeth 15 thereof, is adjusted by turning the vscrews 86 in the plates 8I. If the material to be filled into the cans I2 is of such consistency that only a slight vibration of the cans is vrequired to settle the material in the cans, the rack 16 is lowered to such position/that the rolls I3 engage with the inclined portions of the teeth `15 near the upper ylevel ox' horizontal surfaces 86 of the teeth so that as the rolls 13 pass beyond the teeth surfaces .86 and then drop down into the spaces 81 definedby the vertical rear side 88 of each tooth and the adjacent slanting side 85 of the next tooth the platforms 10 with the lcans therei eol on fall only a relatively short distance and are given a correspondingly slight shaking or vibration. In the case where the material being introduced into the cans I2 is relatively viscous, requiring a comparatively violent agitation or shaking of the cans in order to settle or flatten out the upper layers of the material in the cans,

the lrack 16 is raised so that the rolls 13 will encounter the inclined portions 85 of the teeth 15 at substantially their lowest point, with the result that as the rolls 'I3 pass over thelevel or topmostportions 86 of the teeth they .will drop to substantially the point indicated at 89 in Fig. 5, which marks the beginning of theV rise of the inclined-portions 85 of the teeth 15 of the rack 16, thereby permitting the plates 10 withV thecans thereon to drop the maximum amount and so impart to the contents of the cans the maximum amount of shaking or vibration to level off the upper cone-shapedor tapered last portion of the material fed into the cans. When the hollow screws 8|) have been adjusted to fix the rack 16 in the required position, the check screws 9| which are loosely received in the hollow screws 80 and are threaded upwardly into the rack 16, are tightened in order to prevent the hollow screws 80 from turning. Before the hollow screws 80 can be again adjusted the check screws or bolts 9| must be loosened.

'I'he cans I2 are successively introduced or fed onto the plates 10 by means of a rotary threearmed impeller 93, as yshown in plan in Fig. 3, which revolves in clockwise direction and receives the cans one at a time from the chute 94. As the plates 10 move opposite the can engaged by the impeller 93 the impeller pushes the can up against the two centering rolls or stops 95 located at the inner edge of each plate 10. As the table 3| rotates with the cans on the plates 10, the cans are prevented from outward displacement by means of a rail |06 adjustably supported by the bolts 96 screwed into the upper ends of the uprights 91 rising from the bottom of the arcuate trough 83 in which they are secured by the cap screws 98.

It will be understood that the amount of shaking or vibration imparted to the cans or receptacles I2 during the filling thereof in order to level off the upper surface of the material in the cans will depend on the viscosity of the material fed into the cans; the more viscous the mate- Vrial the more shaking orvibration required, and

the less viscous the material the less shaking or vibration of the cans required to level olf the upper surface of the material in the cans. 'I'he present invention provides means whereby the amount of vibration. to be imparted-to the cans may be accurately adjusted. The settling or levelling olf of the material introduced into the cans is regulated according to the invention by causing the cans to drop periodically during the lling thereof a greater or less distance, depending on the viscosity of the material being fed into the cans. 'I'he amount of drop of the cans determines the amount of shaking or vibration imparted to the cans and so to the material in the cans, and this in turn regulates the amount of levelling oif of the upper surface of the material in the cans, the object to be obtained, of course, being a level upper surface or an upper surface as nearly level as it is possible to produce during the short time consumed in filling the cans. The material introduced into Athe cans being of lard-like consistency and being fed into the center of the cans naturally tends to form a cone-like structure therein. By periodically dropping the cans a short distance during the filling thereof, the cone of material in the center of the cans is levelled off so that by the time the requisite quantity or weight of material has been introduced into eachv canthe greater part of its upper surface is almost level, as shown in Fig. 7, with a attened cone at its center which does not project upwardly be'- yond the upper edge of the can. By reason of the fact that the can is periodically dropped during the filling thereof, the upper surface of the material in the can is caused to flatten out in concentric rings, as clearly indicated in Fig. 6, thereby enhancing the attractiveness of the material in the can. The number of times it is necessary t0 drop the cans during the filling thereof to eect the appropriate settling of the upper surface of the material will depend on the viscosity of the material; Y With lard-like material of the usual consistency, such as commercial hydrogenated cottonseed oil, it has been found that dropping the cans a distance from about three-quarters of an inch to about an inch from ve to seven suc'- cessive times during the filling operation, causes the upper surface of the material to flatten out suiiiciently to feed into the cansy the maximum amount of material without having any part thereof project upwardly far enough to contact with the under surface of the cover.

We claim:

like material wherein a rotary table has a rotary material-containing head moving in timed relation with the table, wherein a series of valves are mounted in the head for controlling the discharge of material therefrom, wherein means is provided for opening and closing the valves as the head rotates, and wherein means is provided for forcing material from the head when the valves are in open position, means for -causing the viscouslike material to 4present a substantially flat-topped surfaceA in a lled can comprising a series of vertically movable receptacle supporting plates each of which has a downwardly directed stem directly connected thereto, a stationary arcuate rack located under the path of travel of the plates, each tooth of the rack including a front face sloping upwardly in the direction of travel of the stems and a vertical rear Wall, all of the teeth being identical in size whereby the viscouslike material is subjected to a continuedl'uniform settling action, the lower ends of the stems of said plates having means adapted to ride'on the upper surface of the teeth of said rackj, and to fall into the spaces between the teeth of the rack at the vertical rear walls o f the teeth, so that the plates withthe receptacles thereon periodically rise and abruptly gravitationally fall identical distances as'the receptacles are being `filled during the rotation of the head and the for forcing material from the head when the` valves are in open position, means' for causing the viscous-like material to present a substantially at topped surface in a filled can comprising a series of vertically'movable receptacle supporting plates each of which has a down- 1. In a machine for filling cans with viscouswardly directed stem directlyconnected thereto,

a stationary arcuate rack located under the path of travel of the plates, each tooth of the rack including a front face sloping upwardly in the direction of travel of the stems and a vertical rear wall, all of the teeth being identical in size whereby the viscous-like material is subjected to between the teeth of the rack at the vertical rear of the teeth, so that the plates with the re- `tacles thereon periodically rise and abruptly vitationally fall identical distances as the rehead and the table, and means for adjusty supporting the rack with respect to the yight thereof.

3. In a machine for filling cans with viscouslike material wherein a rotary table has a rotary material-containing head moving in timed relation with the table wherein a series of valves are mounted in the head for controlling the discharge of material therefrom, wherein means is provided for opening and closing the valves as the head rotates, and wherein means is provided for forcing material from the head when the Valves are in open position, means for causing the viscouslike material to present a substantially fiat topped surface in a lled can comprising a series of ver- 25 tically movable pyramidal-shaped receptacle-supporting plates, each of saidplates having at its inner end stops for centering the receptacles moved onto the plates, each plate having a downwardly projecting stem directly connected thereto, a roll carried on the'outer side of the lower end of each stem, an arcuate rack located under the path of travel of the rolls, the front faces of the teeth of said rack being sloped upwardly in the direction of travel of therolls and said teeth having vertical rear. walls, all of the teeth being ofV identical size whereby the viscous-like material is subjected to a continued uniform settling action, said rolls adapted to travel upwardly on the,sloping faces of the teeth and then abruptly 'gravitationally drop identical distances into the spaces between the teeth to cause vthe receptacles on the plates to rise and` fall periodically as they are beingl filled during the rotation of the head and the table.

4. In a, machine for filling cans with viscouslike material wherein a rotary table has a rotary material-containing head moving in timed relae tion with the table, wherein a series of valves are jtacles are being filled during the rotation of mounted in the head for controlling the discharge of material therefrom, wherein means is provided for opening and closing the valves as the head rotates and wherein meansv is provided for forcing material from the head when the valves are in open position, means for causing the viscous-like material to present a substantially flat topped surface in a lled can comprising a series of vertically-movable receptacle-supporting plates, an arcuate rack located under the path of travel of the receptacle-supporting plates, said plates having downwardly extending members directly connected thereto and adapted to travel on the rack so that as the downwardly extending members rotate they travel on the teeth and fall between the spaces therebetween, whereby the plates and the receptacles thereon are shaken or vibrated, and means for supporting and vertically adjusting the arcuate rack.

5. In a machine for lling'cans with viscouslike material wherein a rotary table has a rotary material-containing head moving in timed relation with the table, wherein a series of valves are mounted in the head for controlling the discharge of material therefrom, wherein means is pro-v vided for opening and closing the valves as ythe head rotates, and wherein means is provided for forcing material from the head when the valves are in open position, means for causing the viscous-like material to present asubstantially fiat topped surface in a' filled can comprising a series of vertically-movable receptacle-supporting plates, each plate having a downwardly extending stem directly connected thereto, an arcshaped rack located under the path of travel of the stems of the receptacle-supporting plates, the upper surface of said rack being provided with teeth of identical size and each of which consists of an upwardly slanting front face terminating in a vertical rear wall, and means connected with the downwardly projecting stem of each plate adapted to travel on the upwardly slanting faces of the teeth of the rack and to fall into the space between the teeth whereby the plates andthe receptacles thereon fall by gravity as the stems reach the spaces between the teeth.

. HARRIE A. KECK.

SAMUEL A. HURST. 

